General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version
William Anders became CEO of defense giant General Dynamics in 1991 as the Cold War was ending and as the industry became saddled with excess capacity. Observing that the company was underserving shareholders and required a massive change in its culture, Anders brought in a new management team and introduced a new compensation system that better aligned the interests of managers and shareholders. Particularly controversial was the Gain/Sharing system, which paid large cash bonuses for each $10 increase in the stock price. The plan was widely criticized for rewarding top executives for manipulating stock prices through public announcements of layoffs and divestitures. Still, by the end of 1991, the stock price had climbed 113%, representing a $1.2 billion increase in shareholder wealth during the year. Teching Purpose: This case can serve several purposes. First, it provides an introduction to executive compensation. Second, it highlights the importance of linking incentives and corporate strategy in the context of a declining industry. Finally, the case can motivate discussions of downsizing and unemployment and the merits of rewarding top executives for cutting excess capacity.
Swot Analysis of "General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version" written by Kevin J. Murphy, Jay Dial includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Anders Rewarding facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Competitive strategy, Motivating people and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing energy prices, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Anders Rewarding, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Anders Rewarding operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Anders Rewarding
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Organizational Development field.
4. Making a Organizational Development topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Anders Rewarding
Strengths General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Anders Rewarding in General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version Harvard Business Review case study are -
Organizational Resilience of Anders Rewarding
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Anders Rewarding does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Anders Rewarding is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Kevin J. Murphy, Jay Dial can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Anders Rewarding has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Anders Rewarding has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Anders Rewarding in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Anders Rewarding has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Innovation driven organization
– Anders Rewarding is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– Anders Rewarding is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Anders Rewarding in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Anders Rewarding to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Anders Rewarding to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Anders Rewarding in the sector have low bargaining power. General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Anders Rewarding to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Strong track record of project management
– Anders Rewarding is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Anders Rewarding digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Anders Rewarding has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Weaknesses General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Anders Rewarding has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Anders Rewarding 's lucrative customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Anders Rewarding has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Anders Rewarding has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version HBR case study mentions - Anders Rewarding takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version, in the dynamic environment Anders Rewarding has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Anders Rewarding has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Organizational Development strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Anders Rewarding has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Anders Rewarding, firm in the HBR case study General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Anders Rewarding supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Anders Rewarding vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Anders Rewarding has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Anders Rewarding even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Opportunities General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version are -
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Anders Rewarding can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Organizational Development industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Anders Rewarding can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Anders Rewarding can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Anders Rewarding to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Anders Rewarding in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Organizational Development segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Manufacturing automation
– Anders Rewarding can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Organizational Development segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Anders Rewarding can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Anders Rewarding has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Anders Rewarding to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version case study. Anders Rewarding can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Anders Rewarding to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Anders Rewarding can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Anders Rewarding operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Anders Rewarding has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Anders Rewarding to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Buying journey improvements
– Anders Rewarding can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Anders Rewarding can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Organizational Development segment.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Anders Rewarding to increase its market reach. Anders Rewarding will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Threats General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version are -
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Anders Rewarding in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Anders Rewarding high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Organizational Development field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Anders Rewarding can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Anders Rewarding needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version, Anders Rewarding may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Organizational Development .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Anders Rewarding has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Anders Rewarding needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Organizational Development sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Anders Rewarding with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing wage structure of Anders Rewarding
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Anders Rewarding.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Anders Rewarding can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version .
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Environmental challenges
– Anders Rewarding needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Anders Rewarding can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Anders Rewarding in the Organizational Development industry. The Organizational Development industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Anders Rewarding will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A), Chinese Version is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Anders Rewarding needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
